Occupational Exposure To Lead Compounds And Human Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$222,887.00
Summary
This study aims to investigate whether there is a link between cancer (in particular cancer of the stomach, lung, kidney and central nervous system) and occupational exposure to lead compounds. There are only a few published cohort studies available on occupational exposures in use and applications of lead compounds, despite the widespread use of these compounds in the past 50 years. Since the late 1980s the use of lead compounds in Australia has decreased, but Australian and world lead producti ....This study aims to investigate whether there is a link between cancer (in particular cancer of the stomach, lung, kidney and central nervous system) and occupational exposure to lead compounds. There are only a few published cohort studies available on occupational exposures in use and applications of lead compounds, despite the widespread use of these compounds in the past 50 years. Since the late 1980s the use of lead compounds in Australia has decreased, but Australian and world lead production has increased. Australia is the world's biggest producer of lead. The precise number of lead workers worldwide is unknown but there are likely to be more than 2 million workers of which many are in developing countries where control of lead exposure is unsatisfactory and occupational exposure limits are considerably higher than in developed countries. Evidence for or against cancer risk with exposure to lead compounds , in particular inorganic lead, will therefore have implications for many Australian and international workers. This is also important for health risk assessment for environmental contamination in the Australian community. In our study we will review the state government archived records of about 8,000 lead workers in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, who took part in lead compound exposure surveys and had blood tests in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, as part of government lead regulations in force at the time. We will then match the details of these workers against the National Cancer and Death registry data to calculate cancer rates. This should involve a sufficient number of workers to enable us to undertake a comprehensive health evaluation of cancer risk and exposure to lead compounds.Read moreRead less
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The impact of policy, demography and geography on work disability. This project aims to map the burden of work disability in Australia through geographic, socioeconomic, demographic and occupational factors. The project intends to determine the impact of state and territory workers' compensation practice on work disability and identify target groups for intervention. Expected outcomes include new insights which nation’s workers’ compensation systems can use in order to implement policy practices ....The impact of policy, demography and geography on work disability. This project aims to map the burden of work disability in Australia through geographic, socioeconomic, demographic and occupational factors. The project intends to determine the impact of state and territory workers' compensation practice on work disability and identify target groups for intervention. Expected outcomes include new insights which nation’s workers’ compensation systems can use in order to implement policy practices that will reduce the burden of work disability in Australia. This outcome would, in turn, improve national productivity and lead to flow-on benefits for the Australian economy and social protection systems such as social security and healthcare.Read moreRead less
Climate Change and Burden of Disease: Current Risk and Future Burden. Climate change has had a negative impact on human health. However, few studies have assessed burden of diseases (BOD) for these climate-sensitive/heat attributable diseases. We will generate the first national picture of the climate attributable BOD in Australia, measured in Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY), the attribution from climate, and project future BOD under various climatic/demographic change scenarios. This proje ....Climate Change and Burden of Disease: Current Risk and Future Burden. Climate change has had a negative impact on human health. However, few studies have assessed burden of diseases (BOD) for these climate-sensitive/heat attributable diseases. We will generate the first national picture of the climate attributable BOD in Australia, measured in Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY), the attribution from climate, and project future BOD under various climatic/demographic change scenarios. This project will rank Australian climate-sensitive/heat attributable diseases by their current burden and projected increase under climate changes, and provide needed scientific evidence to policy-makers in the development, prioritization and implementation of current and future climate change and health adaptation strategies. Read moreRead less
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